Design of skate boots, particularly for hockey skates, has changed little over the course of the last century. In the early twentieth century, future Hall of Fame hockey star Joe Hall realized that his hockey skates were not as responsive or supportive as he would have wanted them to be. Mr. Hall approached a neighbor, a shoemaker from Brandon, Manitoba, named George Tackaberry, to try to develop improved hockey skates. Mr. Tackaberry developed the concept of a custom leather boot featuring a reinforced toe and heel to provide the skater with better support and control. These were the first legendary “Tacks” skates, which have since become the de facto standard for all hockey skates.
However, since Mr. Tackaberry's development of his skates, little progress has been made. This is unfortunate in light of the increasing needs of skaters. Figure skating, speed skating, and ice hockey, have become increasingly popular. As hockey becomes more popular, better, faster, stronger and larger athletes are playing hockey, and these athletes seek increasingly better equipment to attain every possible advantage in competition. As a result, more responsive and supportive skates are desired.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional skate 100 which, in this example, is a hockey skate. A conventional skate 100 generally includes three sections: a skate mechanism 102, an upper 104, and a base 106 coupling the skate mechanism 102 to the upper 104. The skate mechanism 102, in this case, includes a blade 110, a skate frame 112 configured to support the blade 110 with a plurality of pylons 113, and a mounting bracket 114 configured to join the skate mechanism 102 to the base 106. Alternatively, in an in-line, wheeled skate (not shown), the skate mechanism includes the wheels, a frame configured to support the wheels, and a bracket configured to join the mechanism to the base.
The base 106, which is analogous to the sole of a shoe, is joined with the mounting bracket 114 using rivets or similar fasteners (not shown). The upper 104, which is analogous to the upper of a shoe, in most skates is formed from a combination of fabric and leather and nailed, stitched, and/or glued to a last board (not shown in FIG. 1), just as the upper of a shoe is attached to its last board. Alternatively, the upper 104 is molded from plastic and glued or molded to the last board. Edges of the upper 104 are attached around edges of an underside of the last board. The last board is coupled to the base 106 to complete the boot.
Conventional skate designs, such as the skate 100, result in a number of shortcomings. One such shortcoming results from attachment of the skate mechanism 102 to the base 106 and subsequent attachment of the base 106 to the upper 104. The conventional joining of these separate sections 102, 104, and 106 results in a potentially undesirable degree of play between the wearer's foot and the skate mechanism 102 as the upper 104 flexes around the wearer's foot (not shown), the base 106 flexes against the upper 104, and the mounting bracket 114 of the skate mechanism 102 flexes against the base 106. Although some speed skates incorporate a linear array inserts into their bases, such a linear array does not provide a desirable degree of support for lateral movement. As a result of the joining of these separate structures, the responsiveness of the skate 100 to movements of the wearer is diminished.
FIG. 2 shows a cutaway view 200 of a conventional skate 100 and visually highlights the layers interposed between the wearer and the skate mechanism 102. The cutaway view 200 shows how the upper 104 is fastened to the last board 210 only around the edges of the last board 210. Limited attachment of the upper 104 to the last board 210 adds to unwanted flexure between the upper 104 and the last board 210, which can result in attenuation of the wearer's movements to the skate mechanism 102. A contoured footbed 220 supports the foot of the user. The footbed 220 may be joined to the last board 210, but the two are nonetheless separate and may result in some further attenuation between the movements made by the wearer and the response of the skate mechanism 102. However, without the footbed 220, the wearer's foot could rub uncomfortably over attachments between the base 106 and the skate bracket 112. Generally, comfort and responsiveness are traded off in conventional skate design.
Another shortcoming results from a tradeoff between comfort and responsiveness. The upper 104 of a newly manufactured skate 100, like the upper of a new manufactured shoe, may be rigid and uncomfortable, but softens and conforms over time to better fit the wearer's ankle and foot. The initial rigidity may be somewhat uncomfortable to the wearer, although it simultaneously may afford greater responsiveness between the wearer's foot and the skate. After a break-in period—which may be a lengthy and unpleasant process—lessens the rigidity of the upper 104, the upper 104 may be more comfortable, but may be correspondingly less responsive to the movements of the wearer. Unfortunately, the more thoroughly broken-in the skate 100 becomes, the more pliable the entire skate 100 becomes. Thus, over time the skate 100 may become more comfortable, but it also may become less responsive. Conventional molded uppers formed from plastic do not break-in with time, thus the material used generally is partially pliable or semi-rigid to provide a tradeoff between comfort and control.
Thus, there are unmet needs in the art for a skate that optimally combines comfort and responsiveness, reduces or eliminates the break-in period, and betters maintains structural integrity over time.